


three's a company...

by of_dreamdust



Category: Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fake Marriage, I don't know what I'm doing, M/M, Makeup, Marriage of Convenience, it's a lot happier than it seems I promise, okay but this is not a magnus/alec/lydia fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 13:18:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6196516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/of_dreamdust/pseuds/of_dreamdust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Truth be told, Alec didn’t expect any of them to adapt so quickly.<br/>Magnus acts distant at first, not really too happy with the arrangement, but they have a long talk about families and politics, and closets and coming out of them, and after Lydia basically confirms that she is, in fact, in favor of Alec dating other people, everyone seems to be quite alright.<br/>A little bit too alright, if you ask Alec. </p><p>In which Alec and Lydia marry to keep the Institute, and Lydia and Magnus become best friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	three's a company...

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, I have no idea what I'm doing. I just love this show too much. And it, as usually, started with a conversation after the last episode.  
> Also, I only ever watched the show and read only a part of the book series, so my apologies if anyone is a bit ooc.

Alec feels both relieved and freaked out when Lydia Branwell says yes.

Truth be told, he didn’t exactly expect her to say yes. She would be crazy not to have said yes though. It was a perfect plan; the one where both of them keep the Institute in their hands without the Clave hanging over their heads. More than usually, at least.

But still. Alec didn’t expect anyone to want to marry him.

He didn’t really expect Jace to be so against it, really. But he _did_ expect Izzy to lose her shit. (There was a lot of questioning of his sanity and a _lot_ of cursing in Spanish.)

But Alec simply didn’t want to think about telling the news to Magnus. What could he say, really? ‘Hey, Magnus, remember how you told me to follow my heart? Well, yeah, I kinda proposed to a girl I don’t like – at least not in that way – to help my family. You wanna go grab that drink I promised you?’

No, it didn’t seem right. Not a single thing he came up with seemed right.

So maybe it is a good thing that he runs into him unexpectedly, Lydia walking behind his heels as they make their way towards the Institute’s lab.

“Alexander,” Magnus says with that voice of his, like he’s announcing something great, and a small smile on his lips.

“Magnus,” Alec stutters in a quiet voice, his heart beating loud in his ears.

“Always pleasure to see you,” Magnus continues in the same voice, and then turns to Lydia. “And, who do we have here?”

“Lydia Branwell,” she says, extending her hand towards him. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mister Bane.”

Magnus laughs, accepting her hand. “Mister Bane sounds too serious, don’t you think?” He raises one eyebrow. “Let’s just stick with Magnus.”

Magnus lets go of her hand and turns to Alec again, opening his mouth to say something, when Alec cuts him off.

“Lydia and I are engaged,” he blurts out without thinking.

Magnus’ smile falters. “Oh,” he says quietly, but then he remembers himself and his smile comes back. It just seems far more distant this time. “I see you took my advice then,” he says. “Congratulations.” He nods at Lydia, who stands motionless beside Alec.

“Magnus, it’s not-,” Alec starts, but Magnus doesn’t let him continue.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he says and pushes past them, not giving either one of them a chance to say anything else.

Alec turns after him, but his mouth opens and closes uselessly. He doesn’t look at Lydia. He doesn’t want to see the hurt or pity on her face. He doesn’t need her judging him, too.

He scratches the back of his neck and looks at his shoes instead.

“You should call him,” Lydia says quietly.

“What?” he says, but still doesn’t look at her.

“You should call him and explain it to him,” she repeats.

“Explain what?”

He doesn’t know how she does it, but suddenly she’s in his field of view, biting her lip and watching him with concern.

“Alec,” she says, her voice still quiet and careful. “You care about him, and he obviously cares about you. And our marriage is only for political reasons.”

Alec opens his mouth to say something, but she cuts him off.

“Alec, look.” She puts her hands on her hips, and he doesn’t dare interrupt her. “I don’t care if you’re gay or bi, or whatever. But I do see you care about Magnus. And I have no intention of standing in your way, okay? I will marry you,” she continues, “so we can run this Institute together. But I could never love you the way I loved John, and I don’t expect you to love me this way or another.”

Alec for a moment doesn’t believe what she’s saying. “But-,”

“Alec.” Her voice is stern now, and she sounds almost like his mother giving him a lecture. “If you care about him, don’t give up on it.”

She doesn’t give him a chance to answer; she turns on her heels and leaves.

***

“No,” Lydia says the moment Alec steps in front of her.

Alec looks down at himself and raises his hands in question.

“Just. No.” Lydia shakes her head. Alec opens his mouth to complain. “I saw you wearing that thing while you were training,” she continues, giving his t-shirt the most loathsome look humanly possible. “It’s worn-out. And it probably stinks, honestly.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “There _is_ this thing, mundanes call it the washing machine?”

Lydia makes a face, and pushes past him. “Still. You need something more…” She makes a vague gesture with her hand. “Let me see what you have here.” She opens his wardrobe and stands on her tiptoes to look at the higher shelves.

Alec gives her an exasperated sigh. “Yeah, sure, free feel to dig through my personal stuff.”

“Well, I am going to marry you,” Lydia comments dryly. She digs through his shirts, biting her bottom lip. “It’s kind of my duty.”

Alec rolls his eyes again, but doesn’t protest any further.

“What about this one?” she asks, pulling out a black button-down.

“No.” Alec shakes his head.

“Why not? It’s nice, and by the look of it, has been sitting in that closet for a long time.” Lydia unfolds it and pushes it at him. “Almost as long as you have.” She smiles at him.

Alec feels himself blushing, and crosses his arms on his chest. “It’s too tight,” he says defensively. “Izzy bought it for my birthday, but I don’t think she got my size.”

“Seems alright to me,” Lydia says, raising one of her delicate eyebrows. “Besides, you’re going on a date, Alec. Not to evening Mass. It’s kinda supposed to be tight.”

Alec looks at the shirt like he fully expects it to jump from Lydia’s hands and bite his head off. He opens his mouth to complain again, and looks at her expecting face.

He sighs. “Fine.” He grabs it from her and tries to ignore the satisfying smirk on her face.

***

Truth be told, Alec didn’t expect any of them to adapt so quickly.

Izzy lights up as soon as Alec explains to her that it was actually Lydia’s idea for him to invite Magnus out. (“You guys are like one of those open marriages, you know?” she says, smirking. “You could write a book, you know? Mundanes are buying that stuff like crazy.”)

Magnus acts distant at first, not really too happy with the arrangement, but they have a long talk about families and politics, and closets and coming out of them, and after Lydia basically confirms that she is, in fact, in favor of Alec dating other people, everyone seems to be quite alright.

A little bit too alright, if you ask Alec.

Lydia seems to be absolutely amazed by Magnus (not that Alec has any right to say something) and the two of them keep having long conversation about magic and portals and ancestors and, to Alec’s utter annoyance, make-up and clothes and hair.

He comes to Magnus’ loft one day, and hears them before he sees them.

“Magnus? Lydia?” he calls, the bow still hanging on his shoulder.

“Over here!” he hears several voices yell at once, and there he finds them – in Magnus’ fucking closet.

Izzy sits on a chair in front of a large mirror, smiling widely. Lydia has her hands buried in Izzy’s hair, and her brow furrowed in concentration.

Magnus pushes past him, brushing a quick kiss on his cheek. “Hello, Alexander,” he says, rushing to sit in front of Izzy, with at least five different brushes and eyeshadows and the Angel knows what else in his hands.

“What is going on in here?” Alec asks, still standing dumbfounded on the entrance into the warlock’s massive walk-in closet.

“Emergency date,” Izzy answers, closing her eyes so Magnus can do her make-up.

“It’s not that Izzy isn’t an expert in all these things,” Magnus explains, while he covers her eyelids with something golden and glittery.

“It’s just a lot easier with three pairs of hands,” Lydia finishes, and takes a step back to look at Izzy’s now braided hair.

Alec sighs exasperatedly and lets his quiver fall on the floor.

He’s taking off his jacket when Izzy starts standing up from her chair.

“I gotta go,” she says, taking the lipstick from Magnus’ hands, and kissing both him and Lydia on their cheeks. “Thank you so much guys, I owe you one.”

She practically runs past Alec, squeezing his arm. “See you guys later. And oh-,” she stops in her track and turns around. “Clary told me to remind Lydia that she promised to teach her how to do that braids thing with her hair.” She vaguely points at her hair, and shrugs. “She said you’ll now.” She then waves at them and runs out of the room.

“What braids thing?” Magnus asks, as they hear the door closes. “Like, that crown thing you do?”

Lydia shakes her head. “Not really. It, like, starts from the front,” she gestures with her hands, trying to explain it. “But you actually go in the back and then you just kinda-,” she twists her wrist, but Magnus continues looking at her with confused expression.

Alec looks between them.

“I can show it to you if you want,” Lydia says and bites her lip.

Magnus smiles. “Sure.”

Alec looks in disbelief as Lydia sits in Izzy’s chair and starts untangling her blond hair. Magnus moves behind her to watch what she’s doing.

“Hey,” Alec calls, and they both look at them with confused expression.

He raises both his hands and his eyebrows, sending them a questioning look.

Magnus waves his hand. “Your hair’s too short, but you can stay and watch,” he says, winking at him. “You know what they say, three’s a company…”

Alec just sighs and gives up, turning on his heel to find himself a couch or something to lie on.

***

Alec doesn’t even notice them at first. He just notices the smirk on Magnus’ face. Then Magnus moves to kiss him, and is fucking taller than him.

“What the-,” he starts before looking down on Magnus’ legs. “Are those- Are those _heels_?” he exclaims.

“Platforms, Alexander,” Magnus says, still smirking. “Heels are much thinner.”

“Why?” Alec says, looking fucking _up_ at him.

Magnus shrugs. “Lydia and Clary say they make my legs look longer.” He throws his arms around Alec’s neck. “Besides, now I’m finally taller than you. As it should be,” he says and winks at him.

“Your legs are fine,” Alec complains, frowning, but Magnus shuts him up with a kiss.

“I know, Alec.”

***

“Magnus!” Alec yells as he barges in, his voice panicked and shaking. He hears Clary’s running steps behind him, but he can’t slow down, rushing to lay Lydia’s unconscious body to the nearest couch.

“What happened?” Magnus asks as soon as he comes in the room and sees them.

“Demons,” Alec answers shortly, giving him a beseeching look. “I didn’t- I should’ve- But she wouldn’t listen-,”

Magnus ignores his half-finished sentences, gently pushing him away and crouching down next to him. Alec is so focused on Magnus’ hands sparkling blue, and Lydia’s face, now frowned in agony, that he doesn’t even notice Clary coming to stand beside him.

“Can you go fetch me that blue bottle over there?” Magnus says, and Clary rushes to the shelf filled with the Angel knows what before Alec even registers anything.

“Thank you, biscuit,” Magnus says, gently smiling at her.

“I should’ve-,” Alec mumbles, shifting to one foot to another. “Is she- Can you fix it?” He pushes a hand through his hair. “Is she going to be alright?”

“Alec,” Magnus says and his eyes shine. “I love you, but you’re kinda not helping right now.”

Clary grabs his arm, but Alec just shakes her off and rushes out of the room.

Magnus finds him, what feels hours later, pacing up and down the room like a lion in a cage. He looks up when Magnus enters, his eyes full of worry.

“Is she-”

“She’s going to be fine,” Magnus says, smiling at him gently, and Alec’s shoulders relax.

“It’s my fault,” Alec still says, looking anywhere but at Magnus. “She wouldn’t listen, but I should’ve known, I should’ve seen it coming.”

Magnus moves closer and gently cups his face with his hands. “She’s fine,” he repeats, forcing Alec to look at him.

Alec nods his head and wraps his arms around Magnus.

Magnus kisses the corner of his lips. “Accidents happen, Alec, no matter how careful you are. It’s not your fault.”

Alec nods again, and rests his forehead against Magnus’. “Thank you.”

Magnus smiles at him and Alec kisses him.

***

Lydia is sitting on the couch in the room they share in Institute, her legs crossed and a book lying on them. Alec still thinks it’s weird, seeing her like this, her hair a mess and the rests of her make-up smudged under her eyes. It’s weird seeing her that _ordinary_ , after watching her wield her blade and basically handing everyone’s asses to them.

When Alec first met her, he felt a mild dislike and he felt even properly intimidated. Now he feels a certain warmth, and friendship, something so similar to what he feels when he looks at Izzy.

“I’m going to Magnus’,” he says, grabbing his jacket.

Lydia hums, not taking her eyes off her book. “You better, he already called me two times while you were in the shower.”

Alec huffs and zips his jacket. “Isn’t this kind of weird for you?”

Lydia looks up at him questioningly. “Weird?”

“Well, yeah,” Alec says, pausing in his track. “I mean, we’re married. Isn’t it weird for you to, like, encourage me to cheat on you?”

She smirks. “Well, it’s not really cheating if I know about it, is it?”

Alec rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you know what I mean.”

Lydia closes her book and seems to consider it for a moment. “Well,” she says, licking her lips. “I guess I never looked at it that way. I mean, this was a convenient solution, wasn’t it? And I love you, Alec; I love both you and Magnus.” She pauses. “But I love you like my brothers. I mean, by Angel. I don’t think I could ever again feel how I did about John. How I still feel about him. So I’m not…” She swallows, but a soft smile creeps on her face. “I’m not thinking about this as marriage. I’m thinking about this like, a- a tax benefit or something.”

Alec smiles back at her, and looks at his shoes again. “But don’t you, um. Do you ever feel lonely? Do you ever feel like we’re using you? Because I don’t want you to feel that way, Lydia. We all- We care about you, you know that.”

Lydia smiles for real this time. “I know, Alec.” She nods her head. “Sometimes, I miss John. I mean, sometimes I miss him more than usually.” She blinks away the tears that begin forming in her eyes. “But mostly I’m just happy for you, you know? I’m happy that you get to keep the person _you_ love.” She smiles again. “Everyone should get that, you know?”

Alec opens his mouth, unsure of what to say, but is interrupted when Lydia’s phone rings again.

She smirks. “Speak of the devil.” She takes the phone and answers it with a short: “He’s on his way, Magnus.”

Alec smiles at her again and rushes outside.

***

Every bone in Alec’s body seems to be hurting, and he just wants to crash on the nearest bed and die from exhaustion. Even the bow feels heavy in his hand and his steps are slow.

His phone rings in his pocket as he’s entering the Institute, and he pulls it out with a sigh.

A message from Lydia. ‘ _can you come to the garden?_ ’ it says.

He sighs again, but hurries his steps up the stairs.

“Lydia?” he calls as soon as he opens the door, but he hears nothing. “Lydia?”

And then he sees the table in the middle of the garden, set for two, with two candles in the middle of it. There’s some cheesy music in the background, and something else, something that simply screams…

“Magnus,” Alec almost whispers, his shoulders relaxing when he sees the warlock walking towards him.

“Happy anniversary, Alexander,” Magnus says when he comes close enough, and kisses his cheek.

Alec lets the bow slides of his hand to the floor, and his hands fall on Magnus’ hips.

“But wait-,” Alec starts, frowning.

“It’s tomorrow, I know,” Magnus interrupts him. “But then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” He smirks at him.

Alec laughs and leans forward to kiss him again.

“Lydia helped me a bit, I have to admit,” Magnus says, gesturing towards the table. “With smuggling all this here, and y’know... Pretty much emptying the Institute.”

“Oh, really?” Alec says, raising his eyebrows. “I’ll have to thank her later, then.”

“No need,” Magnus shrugs. “I gave her the full access to my closet, so that debt is payed.”

Alec laughs and lets Magnus pull him in for another kiss.


End file.
